Lauren here....

....here in Reno, and not in the UK where I have been and would like to still be. ;-) For the first time in years (and for the first time *ever* without completely shutting down AmericanDuchess.com), Chris and I took a vacation, a proper vacation.

We went "home" to the UK where Chris is from. It was such a wonderful trip full of interesting, stimulating, and varied experiences. We ate Bakewell tarts in Bakewell, walked the city walls in Conwy, visited a race car factory, peeked into the Manchester Gallery of Costume, and relaxed in the Welsh hills with a lot of lambs.

I have specifics to share with you on some of the places we visited, but for now here's a general overview in pictures...

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First stop - Dunston Hall. This place is a Victorian stately home that is also a hotel. They've built a number of additional hotel buildings that are in the same style, so it's a rather large complex. The service and grounds were lovely. If you're visiting Norfolk, this is a great place to stay.

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I've been wanting to visit Revival Retro in London for about 6 years now. It was an absolute treat!

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It's all in the name - if you know what a Bakewell tart is, or a Bakewell pudding, then you'll want to visit Bakewell. There are a number of shops in the town claiming origination of the delicious sweet. We chose this one and this one was wonderful and cute-to-boot.

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After nomming the tarts and puddings, we took a walk (hike) around Bakewell, a darling town built on hills. The quaintness of England just kills me - every street seemed to look just like this.

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A stop for the night in Buxton, a Victorian spa town in Derbyshire built on a natural spring. Like Bath (but younger), Buxton was known for the water - this water right here in this photo, to be exact - and today you can actually buy bottled Buxton water. I drank it right out of the well. ;-)

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One of my favorite daytrips was to Quarry Bank Mill, a working cotton mill now run by The National Trust. I have a lot to share about this fascinating place in a future blog post. For now, here is my doodle.

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If you're a disciple of Janet Arnold, you will recognize this dress. It was like meeting a famous person when I walked into the 18th century room at the Manchester Gallery of Fashion. I made some drawings and notes, which I'll share later.

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The second half of our trip was spent in North Wales - Snowdonia - which was an incredible place of natural beauty. It has a goodly number of castles as well, such as Dolbadarn Castle, a Welsh fortification. Here's my doodle. It was peaceful and wild up on this hill.

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For our week in Snowdonia, we stayed in a Landmark Trust property called Ty Uchaf, one of three cottages up a rather rough track in the mountains. Our was at the top of the hill (of course), but was a truly stunning, peaceful, and meditative place. I honestly don't feel we spent enough time here.

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My doodle of Ty Uchaf. This cottage was originally built in 1685 (!!!)

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From the tippy top of the tallest tower of Conwy Castle in Wales. SUCH a cool place. Before ascending the castle tower, we walked the entire length of the city walls and ate fresh fish and chips on the quayside. Heaven!

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This is proof that Chris and I took a vacation together.

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I have an obsession now. I ate 3/4 of this pie and since we can't get them in the US I've been rocking back and forth in a corner from withdrawals.

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The nearest town to our wild Welsh cottage was Betws-y-coed, a tiny village of mostly outdoor/camping/hiking shops for all the Snowdonia tourists. There's a river running through the town with some waterfalls. An idyllic spot.

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Back at Ty Uchaf - there were lambs everywhere. Some of them were quite bold, but as much as I wanted to snuggle one, this is as close at they ever got, haha. Cute AF little lamby lambs.

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Snowdonia - quite a view.

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Our last day in England (sadness, such sadness). We were back in the South and it was *HOT.* Uncomfortable though the heat was, it was a good day to wear one of the dresses I got at Revival.
So that's it for now, but I have more photos and reports on some of the places we visited and things we saw. Stay tuned!
American Duchess